3/26/2021 0 Comments Billy Joel Albums Ranked
The title track, An Innocent Man, is a classic for a reason somehow he can make his voice go from delicate and understanding to strong and passionate in the very next line.Commonly nicknamed the Piano Man after his first major hit and signature song of the same name, he has led a commercially successful career as a solo artist since the 1970s, having released twelve studio albums from 1971 to 1993 as well as one studio album in 2001.He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, as well as the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, with over 150 million records sold worldwide.
His 1985 compilation album, Greatest Hits Vol. US. Across the 20 years of his solo career, Joel produced 33 Top 40 hits in the U.S., all of which he wrote himself, and three of which (Its Still Rock and Roll to Me, Tell Her About It, and We Didnt Start the Fire) managed to peak at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 charts. Joel has been nominated for 23 Grammy Awards, winning five of them, including Album of the Year for 52nd Street. Joel was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame (1992), the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1999), and the Long Island Music Hall of Fame (2006). In 2001, Joel received the Johnny Mercer Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame. ![]() Since the advent of his solo career, Joel has held a successful touring career, holding live performances across the globe in which he sings several of his written songs. In 1987, he became one of the first artists to hold a rock and roll tour in the Soviet Union following the countrys alleviation of the ban on rock and roll music. Despite largely retiring from writing and releasing pop music following the release of River of Dreams, he continues to tour; he frequently performs at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan. One of the greatest albums of all time in my book, with great songs like Thats Not Her Style, We Didnt Start the Fire, Go to Extremes, Shameless, and the list goes on. It was great to listen to on tape, but sounds even better on vinyl. But then it started to grow on me, and I realized what a fantastic achievement Billy Joels realized here. This is the exact opposite of his subsequent album, the 50s-inspired An Innocent Man; while the content of that album is light, happy pop, the music on The Nylon Curtain is pensive and thought provoking. Joel does indeed musically overreach on this album, and it works out amazingly: the piano is still front and center, of course, but listen to the acoustic guitars on Allentown, the strings in Surprises and the military drums in Scandinavian Skies. The true genius of this album, of course, is Joels subject matter: not only does he tackle some of societys most compelling issues head-on (Vietnam, the Bethlehem Steel layoffs), he probes the human spirit with a depth he doesnt quite get anywhere else. Even the upbeat A Room of Our Own (a song which is as close as possible to a Beatles song without actually being a Beatles song), while chuckling over how confining marriage can occasionally be, reminds us that a room of our own is something we all need. Billy Joel Albums Ranked Full Circle EvenThe albums finale, Wheres The Orchestra, is the most poignant question of all and the ethereal sample of Allentown at its end brings the album full circle even as it acknowledges that life is about the search for the answers. The Nylon Curtain is Billy Joel at his most inquisitive, most restless and most inspired. Mobile Fidelity has taken the original analog master tapes and reconstructed the sound quality that rivals the best vinyl (note that this album is also available in 180 gram vinyl now). Always speaking to the middle-class heroes, Joels 1973 release was an instant hit and the start of an amazing career. ![]() In fact the latter song makes a rousing anthemic closing song.
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